VAMPIRE’S SIN: DROWNING.

Chapter: 4

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TALON:

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the ocean, the waves crashed against the rocky shore with a rhythmic and soothing sound. The salty breeze carried the scent of the sea, mingling with the distant chirping of seagulls soaring overhead.

Amidst this symphony of nature, I floated in the water, surrounded by an aura of stillness and calm. The water lapped gently at my body, the last remnants of life slowly slipping away. The world seemed to hush in reverence as if holding its breath in anticipation of what was to come… eager to receive my last breath.

A sense of sadness and foreboding enveloped me, the world seems almost to have lost all color. It felt so empty... so cold. And so lonely... There was something missing inside me, something that once called itself the only thing keeping me alive but now... Now gone. I could feel it, like a dull ache, deep within my bones, like a hollow hole that I could never fill up again.

A feeling of despair took hold, consuming me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. My heart ached, pounding wildly in my chest, threatening to explode... no. No! This couldn’t be happening! It wasn’t fair! How could something so good, so beautiful be taken from me? But, even worse, why had I bitten the boy? Helpless, I wondered if he would live. If he would survive my wicked assault.

So innocent... so clueless... and yet I had acted so wickedly.

I felt a tear roll down my shut lid, maybe it was the seawater, but I couldn't tell. Too guilt-ridden to dwell on that thought.

What would become of him now? To his family? I know they blame me. Maybe even hate me now. Should I be allowed to live this life again, then I shall do so while torturing myself until my last day, for nothing can be compared to the hurt I have caused him when I bit into him.

Beyond saving, I beckoned death, as I floated lifelessly on the sea bed. And then... I saw a light. So soft, almost like it was shining through a veil of mist. It was almost too faint to see. It seemed to beckon me toward the source of that gentle beam, drawing me deeper and deeper into the fog. A feeling of peace overcame me, as I drifted closer... and I began to enter a dreamlike state. The pain ebbed away from my limbs, replaced instead by warmth, comfort, and security. I felt myself drifting along, my eyes closing.

In this moment of quiet surrender, I felt a sense of weightlessness, a release from the burdens of the world. The sounds of the ocean, the breeze, and the birds faded into the background, leaving only the whisper of peace as I drifted toward the edge of consciousness, embracing the serene hold of the deep blue sea.

It's all over now.

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"Do you think he's alive?" One of the fishermen asked as they laid the boy down on the boat. He lay sprawled on the deck of their boat, motionless as a corpse. His lips were pulled back slightly, exposing the sharp fangs within. His skin that was exposed to the sun bore burnt-like scars, his face unrecognizable.

His clothes, torn apart and strewn about his limbs like a disheveled mess of ripped paper, looked like he had been attacked by a wild animal. The skin around the wounds was dark and mottled, discolored to look sickeningly swollen.

Yet, despite his ravaged appearance, he looked peaceful.

They had found him floating near the cliffs outside of town, not far from where their boat had docked. They brought him on board. But, they couldn't tell if he was alive or dead.

One of the fishermen placed a hand on the boy's neck, "He has no pulse," he said, pulling away from the boy. He glanced at the rest of the crew, all of whom wore grim looks of fear for this stranger who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The boy's face was covered in long, unkempt black hair, the strands tangled into knots. His left cheek was bruised and scratched badly.

What could have happened to him?

The many thoughts on their minds. Why did he have to appear now? When everyone else in town was safe?

"We should toss him back into the sea, after all, he is dead!" One of the men spoke up. Two seemed to agree, but one disagreed. "What's the matter, John?" The man asked, turning to the youngest among them.

John hesitated for a moment before he gathered enough courage to argue with his father. "I do not think it is proper to throw him back out there... his body will be eaten by fish and seabirds and we would all be responsible. We are fishermen, not beasts... We cannot be murderers. Even if he is truly dead, we owe him a proper burial at least since we found him," he finished, his head hanging low.

John's mother scoffed at her son as she came from around the corner. "You are such a fool, Johnny, my boy," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "He is dead, that is a fact. We did not kill him, therefore we are not murderers or will be held responsible. We must let the sharks deal with it."

"We have to bury him, don't throw him back out to sea!" He insisted, but his father was getting irritated at his son's obliviousness.

"He's a vampire, John!" the older man shouted angrily. "Letting the fishes finish him off will do both us and our town good. We have only just rid our town of their kind, and it was hell to do so. Bringing one back only to bury him on our lands will lead to trouble. You may be young, but your mother is right. Take him out the back and throw him into the sea; let the sharks deal with it!"

John nodded, took a blanket handed to him by his mother, and proceeded to wrap it around the mangled form. Once done, he picked up the dead boy easily and hoisted him over his shoulder. Then, he walked away from the sight of the Elders, turning corners until he disappeared.

John was not known to disobey orders, especially those given by his parents, so no one suspected he would act recklessly by dumping an old rusted iron into the sea, creating the deep splash they all heard moments after he left. John reappeared shortly after and told them he had disposed of the body as instructed, expressing his discontent with the idea of throwing the dead boy back into the sea.

And so, they all resumed their work, forgetting about the unfortunate vampire boy who drowned.

They carried on with their day.